Art of Becoming Infinite : Mou Zongsan's vertical rethinking of self and subjectivity / Gabriella Stanchina.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stanchina, Gabriella, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Self (Philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vi, 357 pages)

Place of Publication:

UK : Open Book Publishers, 2025.

Summary:

Mou Zongsan is arguably the most important Chinese philosopher of the twentieth century. This work delves into the philosopher's exploration of self and subjectivity, setting Mou Zongsan's theories against Western paradigms. Mou contrasts Western 'horizontal' model, based on the separation of subject and object, and aimed at cognitive enhancement, with the 'vertical' view dominant in the Confucian and Daoist tradition. The vertical model has, at its core, a practical-performative interpretation of the subject, based on the moral self-cultivation. This spiritual cultivation enables the finite human being to 'become infinite,' embodying the original unlimited moral mind that constitutes the Self and the universe. In addressing fundamental questions of self-consciousness and self-identity, the book contextualizes Mou's philosophy within contemporary discussions in neuroscience and cognitive science. By placing Mou's ideas in dialogue with Western thought-examining thinkers like Husserl, Kant, Hegel, and Lévinas-as well as with Daoist and Confucian vision of mind, this work opens a pathway to understanding selfhood beyond purely epistemological boundaries. This book will be of interest to readers and scholars interested in the contemporary debate about mind and the Self, as well as those intrigued by the new horizons opened by a cross-cultural Western-Chinese approach to subjectivity.

Contents:

Intro

_Hlk117696782

_Hlk183530400

_Hlk187154760

_Hlk187154774

_Hlk184286237

_Hlk117697019

_Hlk117697223

_Hlk166790399

_Hlk117697624

_Hlk117697868

_Hlk117697918

_Hlk117697965

_Hlk117698099

_Hlk117698158

_Hlk117698216

_Hlk117698330

_Hlk117698432

_Hlk117698581

_Hlk166862479

_Hlk117698690

_Hlk117698759

_Hlk117698875

_Hlk117698939

_Hlk184041995

_Hlk117699020

_Hlk117699160

_Hlk117699427

_Hlk117699490

_Hlk117699537

_Hlk117699588

_Hlk117699701

_Hlk117699754

_Hlk117699809

_Hlk117699979 _Hlk117700037

_Hlk117700083

_Hlk117700126

_Hlk117700192

_Hlk117700235

_Hlk182842474

_Hlk183705366

_Hlk132496844

_Hlk132496920

_Hlk166518861

_Hlk132388224

_Hlk132389718

_Hlk132390202

_Hlk132390539

_Hlk132391432

_Hlk132390493

_Hlk186278367

_Hlk132391705

_Hlk132391899

_Hlk132391953

_Hlk132392061

_Hlk132392233

_Hlk132392688

_Hlk132392778

_Hlk132393053

_Hlk132393108

_Hlk132393141

_Hlk132393179

Introduction

A Vertical Rethinking of the Self: The Significance of This Study

Mou Zongsan's Life and Works Chapter-by-Chapter Overview

1. The Question of Subjectivity

1.1 The True Face of Mount Lu

1.2 Contemporary Perspectives on Self

1.3 Comparative Perspectives

2. Mou Zongsan and the Critique of the Cognitive Mind

2.1 Towards a New Philosophy of Mind

2.2 Structure and Significance of the Critique of the Cognitive Mind

2.3 Perception and Apperception

2.4 Self-Consciousness and Psychological States

2.5 The Problem of the Self

2.6 From the Physiological Self to the Logical Self

2.7 Self-Consciousness and Meaning 3.8 Priority of the Sense of Sight

3.9 Subject, Ancestor, Host

3.10 Diaphanous Subject and Thin Subject

4. Constitutive Mind and Constitutive Nature: The Moral Subject in Confucianism

4.1 Confucianism and "Authentic Subjectivity"

4.2 Freedom and Indeterminacy

4.3 The Performative Subject

4.4 The Subject as Incipience and Origin

4.5 Constitutive Mind and Constitutive Nature

4.6 Subjectivity and Interiority

4.7 Conclusion: The Child in the Well

5. Self-Limitation of the Moral Self as Kenosis

5.1 Kenosis: History of a Concept

5.2 Paradoxes of Self-Limitation.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.